'Embarrassed' Springsteen knew exactly what he was doing

Bruce Springsteen clearly knew he'd upset some people when he declared himself an "embarrassed American." But for The Boss, it seems keeping quiet is no longer an option.

Pete Chianca

Bruce Springsteen had to know he was going to get people all riled up.

"We stand before you embarrassed Americans tonight,” he said at the start of his Feb. 2 concert in Melbourne, in reference to the apparently contentious call between President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that ended with a “fatigued” Trump (so much for stamina) hanging up on our longtime ally.

Watching the video of Bruce’s remarks and hearing his playful take on The Orlons’ “Don’t Hang Up,” it’s clear he wasn’t in full PSA mode. (Unlike on Jan. 22 in Perth, when he declared himself and his band to be part of the “new American resistance,” or on Jan. 30 in Adelaide, where he described Trump’s travel ban as “anti-democratic and fundamentally un-American.”)

But that type of nuance matters little to the alt-right public at large, and he had to know it wouldn’t. (In fact, you can almost picture him suppressing a little giggle when imagining their reaction.)

And true to form, the Fox News story about the incident was headlined “Bruce Springsteen is 'embarrassed' to be an American,” even though “embarrassed American” and “embarrassed to be an American” are two entirely different things. But apparently it was close enough for government work, or at least for Fox News, who could no doubt smell the clicks from a mile a way.

This of course was all a certain stripe of Internet dweller needed to hear: Twitter was immediately flooded with Trump supporters calling for Springsteen to move out of the country, along with the requisite comparisons to Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks (who, for the record, ALSO did not say she was embarrassed to be an American in 2003 -- she said “we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” not realizing that a mere 14 years later she’d be willing to give her left boot to trade that particular president for our current one).

@Rivercasino7 @SeekerofTruth0 @springsteen You are an Embarrassment to this country that you claim to love! LEAVE THE US

— Jerri Roberts (@Lecuff) February 6, 2017

Several people also called for Bruce to drop (the rarely played) “Born in the USA” from his setlists, probably taking a cue from the Fox story’s declaration that Springsteen was “a once proud American with his song ‘Born in the USA.’” Thirty-three years burnin’ down the road, and still nobody’s bothered to listen to the words.

Fox was half right, though, in calling Bruce a “once proud American.” But I’d argue he’s also a current proud American, and unlike a lot of his fellow countrymen, he takes every opportunity to show it: through his music, and by using his platform to speak up when somebody’s doing wrong by the country he loves. It just so happens that this time around it’s the duly (?) elected president. Does that mean he should shut up? If he’s truly patriotic, then no -- just the opposite.

To hear some of the shut-up-and-sing-ers tell it, you’d think Bruce is spending half his concerts spewing anti-Trump diatribes where his hit songs should be. In fact, he’s doing exactly what he should be doing: making his view succinctly clear with a few well-chosen words, and then letting his music do the talking. And if the five-pack of “American Land,” “The Ties That Bind,” “No Surrender,” “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “Trapped” doesn’t get you thinking about the things that really make America great, you’re not paying attention.

So let the detractors detract, and claim they’re going to stop buying Springsteen’s records and going to his concerts -- I keep waiting for them to come through on that, so I’ll be able to easily pick up pit tickets for every show. (Yet to happen.)

No matter what they say, Bruce Springsteen is not a court jester or a dancing monkey -- he’s one of our greatest living songwriters, a keen observer of what it’s meant to be an American over these last four decades, and a custodian of the country we carry in our hearts. He’s also a proud American who’s spent a long time building up goodwill and political capital, and now it seems he’s going to use some of it in defense of the good old U.S. of A. Even if some potential ticket-purchasers don't like it.

To that end, I'd bet cash money that "embarrassed Americans" was no slip of the tongue. It was Bruce's way of saying watch out -- when it comes to defending America from policies that will only make it less than the country it could be, he's got no more you-know-whats left to give.

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